Independent review launched into BOM after website storm
The Bureau of Meteorology has ordered its own review into the organisation after the “flawed” $96m remake of its website sparked widespread condemnation.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) will look to future-proof itself and reaffirm its “role as the nation’s trusted source of weather, water, climate and environmental intelligence”, it has revealed.
In a statement, BOM chief Stuart Minchin said with the next strategic plan coming into effect next year, it was a “significant opportunity to take a fresh look at what matters most to the Australian community”.
“The development of our next strategy is a significant opportunity to take a fresh look at what matters most to the Australian community and to ensure we are well positioned to meet future challenges and opportunities,” he said in a statement.
Minchin said Australians needed to know they could trust the bureau with the review expected to deliver its recommendations by March next year.
“This review will help the Bureau of Meteorology better understand current and future customer needs and ensure our strategy and services are squarely focused on the things that are important to the Australian community,” he said.
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“It is about ensuring the bureau remains a trusted, modern and responsive organisation that continues to meet the needs and expectations of a changing world.”
The original price tag of the change – launched in October last year – was $4.1 million, but it was later revealed to have cost $96 million.
Now the eight-month review, led by former Murray–Darling Basin Authority chief Phillip Glyde, will examine “how the organisation can best meet the future needs of Australians industry and community stakeholders”.
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Environment Minister Murray Watt said the review would allow for the bureau to be strengthened in the future.
“BOM’s role in keeping Australia safe, informed and prepared in a changing climate has never been more vital,” he said in a statement.
“Maintaining trust in, and ensuring the effectiveness of, BOM’s information and services is essential.”
The review will also examine areas of customer demand that are not being met, as well as challenges the bureau will likely face in the future.
At the time, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli criticised “flawed” changes to website in the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm which left tens of thousands without power across the state’s south-east.
Speaking in state parliament in October, Crisafulli said the changes were “not good enough” and did not “make sense”.
-with AAP
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